Past Events

Paul de Jong, cellist and co-founder of celebrated experimental duo the Books, and composer and violist Jessica Pavone’s String Ensemble each present new work -- spanning de Jong’s distinctly hybrid and emotionally-driven cello music, to Pavone’s uniquely physical compositions for strings.

During his 2018 ISSUE residency, choreographer and performer Will Rawls takes the multifarious figure of the cursor as a guideline to investigate his work that encompasses dance, writing, voice and objects. In this first research showing, Rawls focuses on the materiality of his voice as it runs through his writing.

Félicia Atkinson presents a brand new work involving an imaginary dialogue between the poems of Francis Ponge and texts of her own, in French and in English, with electronics, voice and piano. The evening also features Afrikan Sciences & Sassacyprigo performing nuanced soundscapes conjuring different temporalities

ISSUE is pleased to present the debut NYC showcase of Pacific City Sound Visions, an experimental label helmed by Spencer Clark. The evening features debut American performances from Francesco Cavaliere and Leila Hassan, as well as new work from Lieven Martens Moana and Clark’s own Typhonian Highlife project.

Julia Santoli opens her 2018 ISSUE residency with the premiere of two new works within her “Siren Sore” cycle: a mutant project of myriad form manifesting as visual project, recording album, and live performance through genre-crossing collaborations. Each new work features Tamio Shiraishi and Geng, respectively.

Pioneering electronics composer David Behrman collaborates with fiddler, improviser, and composer Cleek Schrey. Together, the two perform newly-developing situations: re-worked pieces from the past, embedded Appalachian fiddle tunes, and new compositions.

James K opens her residency with the premiere of ELEKTRA (Scream Through the Eyes of a Statue), a multimedia performance conceptualizing the female voice as an “X-ray to the bones of sound," with Eve Essex (winds and electronics), Via App (electronics), Leila Bordreuil (cello) & Eli V Manuscript (textual alchemy).

Syncretics Series continues with solo performances by renowned Irish pianist Isabelle O’Connell and drum-set master Pheeroan akLaff. O’Connell is a stalwart of the contemporary concert music scene; akLaff imbues his work with ancient belief systems that address creativity as received rather than generated.

Vanessa Rossetto and C. Lavender each present new compositions, respectively exploring how trauma and memory collude with audition as a co-composional material. Rossetto presents a localization of transgenerational trauma, Lavender uses "frequency following" as a form of rehabilitation.

Brandon Lopez continues his 2018 residency with the ISSUE debut of his piano trio, dubbed "Mess," with pianist Sam Yulsman and drummer Chris Corsano. Here, Lopez attempts to dismember the notion of the piano trio to create a counterpart where each instrument functions outside of their supposed traditional roles.

Friday, May 25th, ISSUE is pleased to open Regenerative Feedback: On Listening And Its Emancipatory Potential, a three day symposium of talks, presentations, discourse, and performances centered around biological, social, political and cognitive negotiations in music.

Regenerative Feedback continues, exploring the various ethical dimensions, historical circumstances, and cultural resonances of musical artifacts through a series of individual presentations, a roundtable conversation guided by a moderator, interlocuting performances, and extended Q&As.